The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

After such an incident, neither Lü Meng nor Zhang Zhao had the will to fight anymore.

Although the soldiers attacking the city were unaware of Zhang Cheng's defeat, as time went on, their emotions would inevitably affect those around them, and continuing the fight would indeed be pointless.

Lu Meng sighed and ordered a retreat. As the gong sounded, the Wu army attacking the city retreated like a tide.

On top of the city wall.

Guan Yu looked at the retreating Wu army, then at the bright sunlight overhead, and asked in surprise, "It's only noon now, why did the Wu army suddenly retreat? Could it be that something happened that we don't know about?"

Wu Jun usually fights until dark before retreating, so his early retreat today is clearly abnormal.

Wang Fu frowned and said, "This humble servant will go and investigate immediately."

The attacking side would need at least five times the number of troops to completely surround the city, and the Wu army clearly did not have that capability.

In other words, the Han army can still leave the city to conduct intelligence gathering and other activities.

Guan Yu waved Wang Fu away and fell into deep thought as he watched the retreating Wu army.

Jianye City was easier to defend than I had imagined. I had hardly put in any effort to defend it for a month, and I could even take a nap occasionally.

What about Jiangling?

Jiangling's defenses were personally overseen by him, and their sturdiness surpassed that of Jianye. The city also had ample food, armor, and loyal civilians. If Mi Fang had held out a little longer that day, he could have stormed back and ripped Lü Meng's head off.

As a result, that damned Mi Fang surrendered the city without even offering a token resistance.

They surrendered...

Every time Guan Yu thought about this, he would get so angry that his liver would ache, and his hatred for Mi Fang grew day by day.

The Wu army camp outside the city.

Fearing it would affect morale, Lü Meng did not dare to announce Zhang Cheng's capture for the time being. The large command tent currently only contained him and Zhang Zhao.

The two men's faces contorted with worry as they looked at Guan Xing's arrogant letter.

After a long silence, Zhang Zhao said with a complicated expression, "Back then, Guan Yu said that the plan to launch a surprise attack on Jianye was proposed by Guan Xing, and I didn't believe it. Now it seems to be true. This guy is the most terrifying one in the Guan family. If we really get serious, he might be even more difficult to deal with than Guan Yu in the city."

Lu Meng said somewhat indignantly, "It can't be that bad, can it? The strategist is giving this young punk too much credit."

In his heart, Guan Yu was the most difficult one to deal with. From the time the Xiang River was demarcated until now, he had fought Guan Yu for many years but had never gained the upper hand. He had regarded Guan Yu as his lifelong nemesis. But you're telling me that Guan Xing is more powerful than Guan Yu? Are you kidding me?

Zhang Zhao shook his head and said, "To judge a person, you shouldn't listen to what others say, but rather look at what that person does. Look at what Guan Xing has done since he came to Jianye."

"This young man first devised a plan to drive out all the aristocratic officials in the city, then went to the prison to incite the people, and then attacked the Gu family manor to publicly try Gu Mu."

"Not only did they publicly try Gu Mu, but they also distributed the Gu family manor's wealth to the local people. This not only vented the people's resentment but also brought them real benefits, thus completely winning back the hearts of the local people. I have secretly investigated and found that those people who benefited from Guan Xing's actions are now dreaming that Guan Xing will defeat us and take control of Jiangdong."

"Looking at the battle report sent back by my son, the two armies have been fighting for so long, but Guan Xing has never made direct contact with them. Instead, he has been constantly avoiding their strengths and attacking their weaknesses, using feints and diversions. He easily divided the tens of thousands of troops into several segments, and then defeated them one by one, starting with the weak and then the strong."

"What's even more terrifying is that he can quickly turn surrendered soldiers into his own. Once the Wu army passes through his hands, it instantly becomes the Han army. He doesn't make things difficult for those who are unwilling to surrender to the Han and just lets them go. As you can see, the surrendered soldiers who returned to my son's command became the poison that killed my son. This is an ability that only the big-eared thief has."

"While the big-eared thief may have the ability to turn enemy troops into his own, he can't be that fast, can he?"

"And what about his land reform policy? Will the people who got the land still be on our side?"

"This young man possesses both Xiao He's ability to govern and manage the people and Huo Qubing's skill in leading a lone army deep into enemy territory. Ziming, don't you find such a person terrifying?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Meng realized the seriousness of the problem, and his eyes reddened with jealousy as he said, "Isn't Guan Anguo a good-for-nothing who ran over and killed a child with his horse? How come he's suddenly so wise and powerful?"

Zhang Zhao sighed, "A playboy is just bad, not stupid. Once a playboy turns over a new leaf and walks the right path, he can still be very capable."

This is the truth. Those who are qualified to be playboys are basically well-educated sons of aristocratic families. In other words, what playboys lack is never ability, but only character.

Lu Meng grew increasingly envious and said resentfully, "Guan Yu's might shook the land, Guan Ping has his father's style, and now another Guan Xing, who is almost demonically intelligent, has appeared. Heaven has been too kind to the Guan family!"

Looking at Guan Yu's two sons and then thinking about his own rebellious sons, Lü Meng felt even heavier than after suffering a defeat.

Zhang Zhao shook his head and said, "Let's talk about serious matters. The person must be redeemed. We can't let Guan Xing drag him out for a public trial. But the grain for redeeming the person can't be transferred from Jianye. Transferring grain from here will easily cause panic among the soldiers. For the sake of secrecy, let's transfer it from nearby places like Shanyin and Yuyao."

"But 600,000 shi is clearly not enough. We need to transfer more and try to redeem those 5,000 elite troops as well."

The Eastern Wu forces were so strained that each soldier was practically doubled in number; such an elite force couldn't be given away to Guan Xing for nothing.

Lu Meng nodded and said, "The strategist is right. The question now is who to send?"

Zhang Zhao pondered, "Let Sun Shao go. In the current situation, there aren't many people we can trust to use."

Recently, many important officials in Jiangdong have been secretly communicating with Cao Wei. They have intercepted more than a dozen letters written to Zhang Liao alone, but Zhang Zhao dares not deal with any of them, fearing that mishandling them could lead to disastrous consequences.

Given this, there are very few people they can trust. Sun Shao is one of them. After all, Sun Shao is Sun Ce's son. No matter what, he wouldn't betray his own country.

Lu Meng nodded and said, "Then let Sun Shao set off as soon as possible. This matter must be resolved quickly."

After dealing with this troublesome matter, Lü Meng launched another attack on Jianye, but for some reason, the intensity of the attack was becoming less and less than before.

Even Lu Meng himself didn't realize that he had unknowingly revealed a disheartened and resigned attitude.

Guan Yu, however, keenly noticed the change in the Wu army and frowned, saying, "Why are the Wu army becoming more and more perfunctory lately? Has Guoshan returned?"

Before he finished speaking, Wang Fu came running over, panting, and excitedly said with red eyes, "I found out that Prince Anguo won a battle in Wushang. He not only annihilated tens of thousands of Wu soldiers, but also captured Zhang Cheng and Zhuge Ke."

"What?" Guan Yu's arm trembled, pulling out a few strands of his beard, and he roared, raising his voice, "Is the news confirmed?"

He had been worried about his son's safety recently, fearing that Guan Xing, being inexperienced, would be captured by Wu's army. But the kid gave him such a big surprise without making a sound.

My Guan family line has a successor.

Wang Fu shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but there are rumors circulating among the Wu army. I've already sent people to Wushang to investigate, and I believe we'll have definite news soon."

Guan Yu's good mood vanished instantly, and he cursed, "That bastard Anguo, he won a battle but didn't take the initiative to report the victory. Isn't he afraid that I will make the wrong judgment because of this?"

The lack of communication between friendly forces can easily lead to misunderstandings, and in severe cases, may even result in missed opportunities.

Wang Fu defended Guan Xing, saying, "They might already be on their way. It's 800 li from Wushang to Jianye, and the entire route is controlled by Wu's army. It's normal for it to be delayed for a few days."

"My lord, if Zhang Cheng's entire army is wiped out, the morale of the Wu army outside the city will definitely be in chaos. Should we launch a night attack?"